Dr. Jun Xu went to Leprosy village in 2013, 2014 and 2016, soon he will go to the leprosy village on March 31, 2017.

In 2013, there was no a single room being used for treatment in the leprosy village, Dr. Xu and his team had to use a tent. The temperature was around 125 Fahrenheit degrees.

The leprosy patients were waiting for their turn to be attended. Dr. Jun Xu saw about 200 patients a day.

Typical leprosy patient:
Early Stages
Spots of hypopigmented skin- discolored spots which develop on the skin
Anaesthesia(loss of sensation) in hypthese opigmented spots can occur as well as hair loss
“Skin lesions that do not heal within several weeks of and injury are a typical sign of leprosy.” (Sehgal 24)

Progression of disease

“Enlarged peripheral nerves, usually near joints, such as the wrist, elbow and knees.”(Sehgal 24)
Nerves in the body can be affected causing numbess and muscle paralysis
Claw hand- the curling of the fingers and thumb caused by muscle paralysis
Blinking reflex lost due to leprosy’s affect on one’s facial nerves; loss of blinking reflex can eventually lead to dryness, ulceration, and blindness
“Bacilli entering the mucous lining of the nose can lead to internal damage and scarring that, in time, causes the nose to collapse.”(Sehgal 27)
“Muscles get weaker, resulting in signs such as foot drop (the toe drags when the foot is lifted to take a step)”(Sehgal 27)

Long-term Effects
“If left untreated, leprosy can cause deformity, crippling, and blindness. Because the bacteria attack nerve ending, the terminal body parts (hands and feet) lose all sensations and cannot feel heat, touch, or pain, and can be easily injured…. Left unattended, these wounds can then get further infected and cause tissue damage.” (Sehgal 27)
As a result to the tissue damage, “fingers and toes can become shortened, as the cartilage is absorbed into the body…Contrary to popular belief, the disease does not cause body parts to ‘fall off’.” (Sehgal 27)

Every year, Dr. Jun Xu and his team bring around $300,000 worth of medicine donated from his team members and Americares in Stamford, CT to treat the leprosy and other patients in Senegal and Guinea Bissau. http://www.americares.org/, in 2017, his team also received medicine donation from Direct Relief in California, https://www.directrelief.org/.
Dr. Jun Xu and his team finally established a clinic in the leprosy village, one building for the clinic, and another building for the living of doctors and nurses.

Leprosy village people were celebrating the opening of the clinic.

There are 8 wards, which could hospitalize the patients if it is medically necessary.

Dr. Jun Xu’s team usually stay in Senegal for 10 to 14 days, these are the foods his team brought from US in order to keep them health and safe. They do not dare to eat street food.

The above are the coolants contained food Dr. Jun Xu’s team brought from US

Dr. Jun Xu and his team from US in 2006.
If you are interested in joining Dr. Jun Xu’s team or donating to his work in Senegal, please address your check payable to AGWV, and send to
Jun Xu, MD, 1171 E Putnam Avenue, Riverside, CT 06878, USA.
Dr. Xu promises that all your donation 100% will go to Senegal and his team will nerve use a penny from your donation. You will receive the tax deductible receipt. Any amount is a great help for Africa patients.
For more info, please visit our websites at
http://www.drxuacupuncture.co/ and http://www.africacriesout.org/

I was the president of American Traditional Chinese Medicine Society (www. http://atcms.org) between March 2010 and March, 2012. Now, I am honorary president of ATCMS. On behalf of ATCMS, I advise you sign the petition to urge Obama Administration recognize acupuncturist as healthcare providers and allow Medicare to pay acupuncture treatment.

Thank you for your support! Please sign the petition now!

Jun Xu, MD

Recognize Acupuncturist as Healthcare providers

Despite overwhelming evidence of the positive impact acupuncturist have on patient health, they are not recognized as healthcare providers under the Social Security Act and, therefore, cannot be paid by Medicare for therapy management.

Janet, a 36 year old woman, came to me with complaints of body aches and multiple joint pain for the past 6 months. Janet reported, “Every inch of my body is achy, I am depressed.” She reports having a tick bite about ten months ago, while she was playing with her son in the backyard of her house. A dead tick was found on her neck close to her hair line with a bull’s eye rash prompting her to see her physician immediately and receiving antibiotics (doxycycline) for three weeks. She felt fine at that time. However, after one month, she started to develop some flu like symptoms; feeling fatigue, poor sleep, stomach cramps and poor appetite. She took advil for 2 weeks without any improvement. She also felt poor concentration along with severe headaches. Later she developed bilateral knee joint swelling, difficulty walking, a tingling like snake sensation at both legs and hands. She went to many different doctors for her symptoms, though no one could give her a definite answer and treatment, therefore, she came to me for help.

Janet is most likely to have Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Approximately 10 to 20% of patients treated for Lyme disease with a recommended 2–4 week course of antibiotics will have lingering symptoms of fatigue, pain, or joint and muscle aches. In some cases, these can last for more than 6 months. Sometimes it is called “chronic Lyme disease,” this condition is properly known as “Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome” (PTLDS).

The main symptoms of PTLDS are listed as following,

Arthritis. After several weeks of being infected with Lyme disease, approximately 60% of those people not treated with antibiotics develop recurrent attacks of painful and swollen joints that last anywhere from a few days to a few months. The arthritis can shift from one joint to another; the knee is most commonly affected and usually one or a few joints are affected at any given time. About 10% to 20% of treated patients will go on to develop lasting arthritis. The knuckle joints of the hands are only very rarely affected.

Neurological symptoms. Lyme disease can also affect the nervous system, causing symptoms such as stiff neck and severe headache (meningitis), temporary paralysis of facial muscles (Bell’s palsy), numbness, pain or weakness in the limbs, or poor coordination. More subtle changes such as memory loss, difficulty with concentration, and a change in mood or sleeping habits have also been associated with Lyme disease. People with these latter symptoms alone usually don’t have Lyme disease as their cause.

Nervous system abnormalities usually develop several weeks, months, or even years following an untreated infection. These symptoms often last for weeks or months and may recur. These features of Lyme disease usually start to resolve even before antibiotics are started. Patients with neurologic disease usually have a total return to normal function.

Heart problems. Fewer than one out of 10 Lyme disease patients develops heart problems, such as an irregular, slow heartbeat, which can be signaled by dizziness or shortness of breath. These symptoms rarely last more than a few days or weeks. Such heart abnormalities generally appear several weeks after infection, and usually begin to resolve even before treatment.

Other symptoms. Less commonly, Lyme disease can result in eye inflammation and severe fatigue, although none of these problems is likely to appear without other Lyme disease symptoms being present.

The exact cause of PTLDS is not yet known. Most medical experts believe that the lingering symptoms are the result of residual damage to tissues and the immune system that occurred during the infection. Similar complications and “auto–immune” responses are known to occur following other infections, including Campylobacter (Guillain-Barre syndrome), Chlamydia (Reiter’s syndrome), and Strep throat (rheumatic heart disease). In contrast, some health care providers tell patients that these symptoms reflect persistent infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. Recent animal studies have given rise to questions that require further research, and clinical studies to determine the cause of PTLDS in humans are ongoing.

Regardless of the cause of PTLDS, studies have not shown that patients who received prolonged courses of antibiotics do better in the long run than patients treated with placebo. Furthermore, long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease has been associated with serious complications. The good news is that patients with PTLDS almost always get better with time; the bad news is that it can take months to feel completely well.

If you have been treated for Lyme disease and still feel unwell, see your doctor to discuss how to relieve your suffering. Your doctor may want to treat you in ways similar to patients who have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. This does not mean that your doctor is dismissing your pain or saying that you have these conditions. It simply means that the doctor is trying to help you cope with your symptoms using the best tools available.

It is normal to feel overwhelmed by your ongoing symptoms. Some things that may help you manage your PTLDS include:

Check with your doctor to make sure that Lyme disease is not the only thing affecting your health.

Become well-informed. There is a lot of inaccurate information available, especially on the internet. Learn how to sort through this maze.

Track your symptoms. It can be helpful to keep a diary of your symptoms, sleep patterns, diet, and exercise to see how these influence your well being.

Maintain a healthy diet and get plenty of rest.

Share your feelings. If your family and friends can’t provide the support you need, talk with a counselor who can help you find ways of managing your life during this difficult time. As with any illness, Lyme disease can affect you and your loved ones. It doesn’t mean that your symptoms are not real. It means that you are a human being who needs extra support in a time of need.

Being strong mind, if you know the mechanism of your illness and have strong mind to fight this illness, you will finally get out of the control of the disease.

It is important to note that people with a history of Lyme disease have more musculoskeletal impairments when compared to those without a history of the disease. Physical Therapy is very effective at treating musculoskeletal impairments such as pain and muscle spasms though multiple means of massage, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation. Muscle weakness and limited endurance are other symptoms that can be greatly improved with treatment.

A common impairment is decreased standing balance and impaired gait pattern that a routine of lower body strengthening, core training and balance exercises would help to restore. Functional limitations would include difficulty with stair negotiation; sit to stand transfers and the inability to continue to work. It is important not to over stress yourself with exercise or daily activities to prevent from exacerbating your PTLDS

A few exercises would be a light general warm-up that is easy on the knees being the exercise bike at low-moderate intensity taking breaks as needed.

Fig 1-2 http://visionfitness.mercola.com/exercise-bikes.aspx

After warmed-up, a whole body exercise that also works on a common ailment of decreased transfer ability with sit to stands would be chair squats. With this exercise it is important not to allow your knees to track beyond your toes and to barely allow the hips to touch the seat before standing back up again. Start with 10 pain free reps and working up to 30 reps total.

Balance is another ailment that can be worked with exercise. Start out on a flat surface with eyes open for one minute, once that becomes easy start to challenge yourself by closing your eyes only as long as you are standing in front of a couch or table that you can grab hold of if needed. Continue to progress by then standing on a foam pad to make the surface uneven or stay on the flat surface and stand on one foot at a time with eyes open and then closed.

A light stretching routine is encouraged to decrease joint stiffness and improve range of motion. Shown is a simple stretch that if held for 1 minute on each leg will loosen muscles around the most common effected area with PTLDS being the knees.

Acupuncture is an excellent alternative way to treat your symptoms. It has no side effects and can be combined with traditional western medicine to relieve your symptoms. The choice of acupuncture treatment of PTLDS is as following,

Janet was treated with me for 2 x per week for 8 weeks. I first try to decrease her pain at the joints and body with the points of group 1 and 2 , then, I used the group 3 points to help her to improve her fatigue and depression, after about 2 month’s treatment, Janet felt much improved. Her pain scale decreased from 9/10 to 2/10. She then had maintenance treatment for once a week for another 2 weeks, she finally discharged without pain.

Tips for Patients:

Early diagnosis and early treatment: Always suspect you might have Lyme disease if you have exposed to wild environment with skin rash. Early treatment is the key to reduce the rate of Post Treatment of Lyme Disease Syndrome.

Multiple Therapy is the best way to treat PTLDS. Anti-inflammatory Medication, Physical Therapy and Acupuncture Treatment together will help you a lot.

Tips for Acupuncturists:

Treat your patients as a whole person, you not only treat their pain symptom, but also their stress, fatigue, and depression. To relieve the mental stress is the key for the effects of your acupuncture treatment.

Encourage your patients to have at least 8 weeks treatment. It is very important to have a long term treatment to achieve the best results.

The following publications refer to studies in mice and monkeys. Please note that while animal studies are helpful, further research is necessary to determine whether these results correlate with human disease.

William S., a sixty-two-year-old man, works as a stock analyst. His day begins at 6AM and finishes at 7PM. His lifestyle is very stressful, but he is a regular exerciser, running five miles on Saturday and Sunday. He has no health problems, save that he smokes about half a pack of cigarettes a day and has been drinking coffee for thirty years. One morning, on awakening, he felt a sudden onset of weakness and numbness on the left side of his face and arm, as well as in his left leg, and he had a moderate headache. He had difficulty walking and called his wife who noted his speech was slurred. She called an ambulance and he was rushed to the emergency room where his blood pressure was found to be 160/100. A CT scan showed blood in his brain, so William was diagnosed with a hypertensive hemorrhagic stroke. He had emergency open-scalp surgery and the blood clot was removed from his brain, but after the surgery he felt the left side of his face drooping and there was weakness in his left arm and leg.

After three months of intensive physical therapy, his symptoms improved, but he asked his doctor how, considering that he eats right and exercises, he could have suffered a stroke. He did mention to the doctor that he had not been checked for hypertension for five years, though he and his wife had availed themselves of the free blood-pressure monitor at their local supermarket.

The doctor put him on two different antihypertensive medications and told him he needed to have his blood pressure checked yearly by his physician. For a correct blood pressure reading, the doctor advised him that the readings should be taken three times, at least a week apart, and then the numbers should be averaged.

Hypertension—a Leading Cause of Strokes

Hypertension is high blood pressure and it is one of the main causes of a stroke. A person can have high blood pressure for years without knowing it because high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, though occasionally headaches may occur. During this asymptomatic period, hypertension can do damage to multiple organs, such as the heart, the blood vessels, the kidneys, or the brain. For this reason, it is referred to as a silent killer because suddenly one day the hypertensive person has a stroke, or develops coronary heart disease, i.e. heart attack or kidney failure.

The following comprise the rule of thumb on how to accurately and effectively take blood pressure.

Blood pressure should be taken at least one hour after caffeine, thirty minutes after smoking or strenuous exercise, and without any stress present.

The person should be upright in a chair with both feet flat on the floor for a minimum of five minutes prior to taking a reading.

Some people feel nervous on seeing doctors, a fairly common phenomenon known as white coat syndrome. To avoid this, the person getting the reading should be in a relaxed situation in an isolated room. Also, to counteract any discrepancy and assure an accurate result, three blood pressure readings should be taken at least five minutes apart and the results should then be averaged.

Older people who are suspected of having orthostatic hypotension should be given initial measurements in both arms. And in order to obtain the correct blood pressure readings, this should be done in lying, sitting, and standing blood positions.

Definition of Hypertension (HTN)

Based on the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2003 guidelines, blood pressure is defined as follows.

For adults age eighteen and above, normal systolic blood pressure is less than 120 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure is less than 80 mmHg.

Pre-hypertension systolic is 120–139, with diastolic is between 80–89.

Stage 1 hypertension is between 140–159 systolic, with diastolic between 90 and more than 99.

Stage 2 hypertension is more than 160 systolic, with diastolic more than 100.

Table 9.1

Classification of Blood Pressure (BP) for Adults:

BP Classification

Systolic BP mmHg

Diastolic BP mmHg

Lifestyle Modification

Normal

<120

<80

Encourage

Prehypertension

120–139

80–89

Yes

Stage 1 HTN

140–159

90–99

Yes

Stage 2 HTN

> or = 160

> or = 100

Yes

Sources: 7th Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7), 2003

The Two Major Forms of Hypertension

Essential or Primary Hypertension

Ninety-five percent of those with hypertension exhibit essential or primary symptoms. Essential hypertension indicates that either no specific medical cause can be found to explain the person’s condition or that it might be caused by multiple factors. Those combined effects are responsible for HTN in approximately 72 million Americans.

Secondary Hypertension

This accounts for 5 percent of those with hypertension. In this instance, the high blood pressure is secondary to a specific abnormality, as for example kidney disease or tumors, adrenal adenoma, or other endocrine tumors.

Cushing’s syndrome (hormone disorder caused by high level of cortisol in blood)

Adrenal gland tumor (pheochromocytoma)

Narrowing (coarctation) of the aorta

Thyroid or parathyroid disease

How Western Medicine Investigates Newly Diagnosed Hypertension

A physician will try to identify possible causes of secondary hypertension and seek evidence of end-organ damage to the heart, eyes, or kidneys.

Damages to Target Organs—Heart

Muscle thickening (hypertrophy) in left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber

Angina or prior myocardial infarction

Heart failure

Damages to Other Target Organs

The brain: A stroke or a transient ischemic attack

The kidneys: Chronic kidney disease

The arteries: Peripheral artery disease

The eyes: Damage to the retina of the eye (retinopathy)

Main Blood Tests Performed to Determine Causes and Results of HTN

Renal function. Creatinine test to identify any underlying renal disease as a cause of hypertension, as well as it causing the onset of kidney damage. In the meantime, a baseline needs to be set up to monitor the possible side effects of certain antihypertensive drugs on the kidneys.

Electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride.

Glucose to identify diabetes mellitus.

Cholesterolto identify the possible cause of coronary artery disease.

Urine samples. A healthcare provider might take urine samples to check for proteinuria in order to find out if there is any underlying kidney disease or evidence of hypertensive renal damage.

EKG for evidence of any damage to the heart.

Chest x-ray to check for signs of cardiac enlargement.

A recent survey found that 30 percent of those with hypertension were not aware they had it; 41 percent did not receive any antihypertensive treatment; and only 34 percent of those surveyed had it under proper control.

Prevention of Hypertension

Prevention of damage related to high blood pressure is the most important issue, and lowering blood pressure to prevent end-organ damage to the retina, kidney, heart, or brain is crucial. The following prevention procedures are recommended by National Institute of Health and W.H.O.

Weight reduction and regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, running, swimming, or bicycling. Several studies indicated that lower-intensity exercise may be more effective in lowering blood pressure than higher-intensity exercise.

Reducing sodium in the diet decreases blood pressure in about 33 percent of people.

Reducing sugar intake also helps.

Quitting smoking and decreasing alcohol consumption to a minimum.

Adopting the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan, which is rich in potassium and calcium, with reduced dietary sodium.

Lifestyle Modifications

Modifying lifestyles can reduce blood pressure, enhance antihypertensive efficacy, and decrease cardiovascular risk. As an example, a 1600 mg sodium eating plan has effects similar to single drug therapy. Combinations of two or more lifestyle modifications can achieve even better results.

Table 9.2

The Benefits of Lifestyle Modifications in Managing Hypertension

Modification

Recommendation

Benefits

Weight reduction

Maintain normal body weight (mass index 18.5–24.9)

If you can lose 10 Kg, you may be able to lower your blood pressure about 5–20 mmHg

Adopt DASH eating plan

Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products with a reduced content of saturated and total fat

If you adopt this plan, you may be able to lower your blood pressure about 8–14 mmHg

Dietary sodium reduction

Reduce dietary sodium intake to no more than 100 mmol per day (2.4g sodium or 6g sodium chloride)

If you adopt this modification in your diet, you may be able to lower your blood pressure about 4–9 mmHg

Physical activity

Engage in regular aerobic physical activity, such as brisk walking at least thirty minutes per day most days of the week

If you adopt this plan, you may be able to lower your blood pressure about 2–4 mmHg

Moderation of alcohol consumption

Limit consumption to no more than 2 drinks (1 oz or 30 ml ethanol, 24 oz beer, 10 oz wine, or 3 oz 80 proof whiskey) per day in most men, and to no more than 1 drink per day in women and lighter weight people

If you adopt this modification, you may be able to lower your blood pressure about 2–4 mmHg

Sources: 7th Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention,Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7), 2003

Pharmaceutical Treatment of Hypertension

There are many people who are currently using pharmaceutical drugs, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and thiazide type diuretics.

Diuretics of the thiazide type have been the basis of antihypertensive therapy in most outcome trials. In many studies, a diuretic works much better than other antihypertensive medications. Therefore, in the United States, the thiazide-type diuretic is the first choice to treat hypertension.

Table 9.3

Commonly Used Drugs

Class

Name (Trade Name)

Usual dose range in mg/day

Usual Daily Frequency

Thiazide diuretics

Chlorothiazide (Diuril)

125–500

1–2

Loop diuretics

Furosemide (Lasix)

20–80

2

Potassium-sparing diuretics

Amiloride (Midamor)Triamterene (Dyrenium)

5–1050–100

1–21–2

Aldosterone receptor blockers

Spironolactone (Aldactone)

25–50

1

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

Lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril†)Quinapril (Accupril)

10–4010–80

11

Angiotensin II antagonists

Irbesartan (Avapro)Losartan (Cozaar)

150–30025–100

11–2

Beta-blockers

Atenolol (Tenormin)

25–00

1

Calcium channel blockers—Dihydropyridines

Amlodipine (Norvasc)

2.5–10

1

Calcium channel blockers—non-Dihydropyridines

Diltiazem extended release

180–420

1

Sources: 7th Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7), 2003.

Thiazide-type diuretics should be used alone or in combination with one of the other classes, such ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, or calcium channel blockers.

The Goal of Antihypertensive Therapy

The ultimate public health goal of antihypertensive therapy is the reduction of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The aim of treatment for most people should be getting blood pressure readings to <140/90 mmHg, and even lower in certain contexts, such as diabetes or kidney disease (some medical professionals recommend keeping levels below 120/80 mmHg).

Achieving Blood-Pressure Control

Most people who are hypertensive will require two or more antihypertensive medications to achieve their blood-pressure goals. An additional second drug from a different class should be initiated when the use of a single drug in inadequate doses fails to achieve the blood-pressure goal. When the blood pressure is more than 20/10 mmHg above the goal, consideration should be given to initiate therapy with two drugs, either as separate prescriptions or in fixed dose combinations. However, the likelihood of a dramatic decline in blood pressure leading to dizziness when people attempt to stand (orthostatic hypotension), must be mentioned, as it can occur in people who have diabetes, or in older people and there could be a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that regulates unconscious body functions, including blood pressure and heart rates.

There is a thousand year history of acupuncture treatment for different symptoms of hypertension, but there is no word in Chinese history for hypertension. The hypertension diagnosis is always found where there are symptoms of dizziness, faintness, strokes, and headaches. In recent studies, it was shown that acupuncture treatment can be an excellent adjunct to medical treatment, especially for those who are diagnosed with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension, even stage 2 hypertension. In these instances, acupuncture might greatly decrease the dosage of antihypertensive medications, and also decrease the side effects of these medications. I do not, however, recommend discontinuing antihypertensive medications and using acupuncture as the only treatment.

In traditional Chinese medicine, hypertension is manifested as following two types.

Excessive Liver Yang

The person usually shows dizziness, tinnitus, and headaches, sometimes emotional upset, anger, facial redness, insomnia, and vivid dreams or nightmares. The treatment should be focused on lowering the excessive liver yang.

Headaches, vertigo, pain in the breast, irregular menstruation, pain and swelling of the back of the foot, spastic pain of the foot and toe

Please refer to the accompanying Figures (illustrations) for the locations of

the points. And please note that these illustrations are for information only

and may not show all the exact locations of the acupuncture points.

Figure 9.1

Deficiency of Blood and Qi (Energy)

The person very often feels dizziness and faintness; the dizziness is triggered by fatigue and always becomes worse when getting up from a sitting position. This deficiency is always accompanied by a pale face, and sometimes heart palpitations, insomnia, fatigue, slowed speech, and poor appetite. The treatment for this condition should be focused on nourishing the qi and blood and improving the function of the spleen and stomach. The acupuncture points for this are the following.

Please refer to the accompanying Figures (illustrations) for the locations

of the points. And please note that these illustrations are for information

only and may not show all the exact locations of the acupuncture points.

Figure 9.2

Fig 9.3

Fig 9.4

Treatment for William

William was diagnosed with excessive liver yang and underwent my treatment. After three months, his blood pressure became stable and under control, and only minimum dosages of the antihypertensive drugs were used.

Hypertentsion Tips for Use at Home or Office

Be calm and relaxed. Do not add stress on top of your blood pressure.

Massaging Tai Yang and Bai Hui will usually help you decrease your headache and your blood pressure. Acupressure the points with your thumb or knuckle, pressing with comfortable pressure on the points; count to 20, then change to another point.

After the blood pressure comes down, maintenance with acupuncture is necessary once a week in the short term, and is also very useful and effective in the long run.

Peter W. is a 53 year old man who has been extremely successful in business. During his career, he built up a huge company which he sold for 20 million dollars in 2000. Afterward, he felt depressed and realized he had nothing to do which made him sluggish and without motivation, as he had no goal to pursue. He started using drugs, including heroin, which soon became a daily habit. When he was no longer to procure drugs easily in the United States, he turned to the internet and started ordering drugs by E-mail, which were sent to him from Africa. Though he had no real idea what he was using, he continued with his habit, which made him feel empty, depressed, anxious, restless and gave him insomnia, all of which caused a poor relationship with his wife and family. On some occasions he used so heavily he was unable to rise from his bed for a couple of days, on other occasions his family had to rush him to the emergency room. He felt occasional euphoria, followed by the deepest depression, and cloudy mental functioning.

He knew this was not way to live, so he tried to find work that would engross him. For example, he took a charity job and helped the company build up cheap laptop computers for distribution to third world countries to help the young people there. In spite of this worthwhile work, he still felt empty. He took another job as V.P. and a seat on the Board of Directors in one of the biggest computer companies. He worked very hard at this new job, however, as soon as he stopped working or had leisure time he found himself reverting to drug use.

Finally, he came to me for help, saying he wanted to quite drugs altogether.

Heroin is a highly addictive, illegal drug, the most abused and most rapidly acting of the opiods. It is processed from morphine and naturally occurring substance extracted from the seeds of certain varieties of poppy plants. It usually appears as white or brown powder, and sometimes is mixed with sugar and other substances to cut its strength.

Heroin has both long and short term effects. The short term effects include: depression, bad respiration, clouded mental functions, nausea, vomiting, spontaneous abortion. It is used medicinally for the suppression of pain, though under controlled conditions. In addition, heroin can cause temporary feelings of euphoria. Long term effects include addiction and infectious diseases such as HIV, AIDS, hepatitis B and C, collapsed veins, bacterial infection, abscesses, arthritis and pneumatic problems.

In Western medicine there are many types of detoxification programs.

The methadone is the most popular. Methadone is a synthetic opioid that blocks the effects of the heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms; this method has a proven record of success for heroin addicts.

A pharmaceutical approach is the use of buprenorphine as another behavioral therapy. Buprenorphine offers less risk than methadone and can be prescribed in the doctor’s office. Bupherorphine and Suboxone is a combination drug product formulated to minimize abuse.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture have a long history of treating drug abuse. The two types of treatments are:

Auricular acupuncture

Body acupuncture.

The main functions of the acupuncture treatment are to decrease the withdrawal symptoms and improve the patient’s depression and brain function. There are many studies supporting these treatments and the most well known is that acupuncture can directly increase the level of endogenous endorphin, which makes the patient feel calm, relaxed and cheerful. Acupuncture can also directly stimulate the central nervous system to make the patient feel less depressed and lessen the craving for drugs.

For auricular acupuncture, I use the lung, endocrine, liver, spleen and large intestine points corresponding to these organs. . The lung has an opening through the nose and when people abuse heroin, the lung point will protect the lung function and strengthen the immune system. The endocrine points increase endorphin secretion and increase people’s immune function to protect the entire body. Liver and spleen points improve circulation and also improve the taste in the mouth because the spleen and stomach have openings in mouth and large intestine points; the intestine and the lung have direct meridian connection, so if we improve the function of the large intestine, this in turn will directly improve the lung function.

Pic 6-1

For the body acupuncture points, the most important ones are on the head. I use Baihui DU20 plus shi sheng chong Exn1, total five points, which can directly stimulate the central nervous system when I add electrical stimulation to the needles. They send current directly to the cortex of the brain, which greatly improves the patient’s mood and decreases the depression. Shuaigu GB8, which is on the head 1.5 inches above the tip of the auricular is directly connected to the sensory cortex, which will improve the body’s sensation and make it dislike the taste of heroin. Hegu L14 is a point that can largely increase endorphin secretion and Qu Chi L111 will give a better functioning effect. Neiguan Pc6 is a point of the pericardium meridian, which also helps improve mental functions. Lu7 is the point from the lung meridian which protects the lung from attacks of heroin and improves the immune function of the lung.

Pic 6-2

After treatment of two weeks, the patient started to feel decreased withdrawal symptoms and had more energy. However, he sometimes still feels cravings for heroin, and he has some physical weakness, with muscle spasms in his arms and legs. He also experienced restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by insomnia. I continued the acupuncture treatments three to four times a week for eight weeks, while also discussing the short and long term effects of heroin use and what organs would be effected and harmed by continued use. He told me that, in spite of the withdrawal symptoms, he still felt much better with the treatments and he is happy to treat his addiction in this fashion, rather than go into a methadone program, at which point his drug use would become generally known. By coming to me, he can be treated in private for his addiction.

Peter W. was also advised to make lifestyle adjustments and I encouraged him to work more for the charity. He traveled to Africa and Asia to actually see and meet the people using the inexpensive computers, and what it could do to improve their lifestyles. This experience touched him a great deal and after about 3 months of treatment he stopped using heroin entirely and is now completely clean. His insomnia, depression, anxiety and other symptoms are much improved and he is leading a normal life again.